1955 Double Die Penny (Doubled Die Obverse) Value

1955 Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln Cent

Key date

A widely collected doubled die, with conspicuous doubling of the date and lettering.

1955 Doubled Die Obverse Wheat Penny: front (type example, 1909 Philadelphia VDB cent) — Type example: 1909 Philadelphia VDB cent. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ. The V.D.B. initials on this example's back were removed during 1909, so later wheat pennies don't have them.
Photo credits
National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History (photo: Jaclyn Nash) (PD; source)

1955 Doubled Die Obverse Wheat Penny: back (type example, 1909 Philadelphia VDB cent) — Type example: 1909 Philadelphia VDB cent. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ. The V.D.B. initials on this example's back were removed during 1909, so later wheat pennies don't have them.
Photo credits
National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History (photo: Jaclyn Nash) (PD; source)

Often fakedDo not confuse the doubled die with die-deterioration doubling, sometimes called the 'poor man's doubled die'. Have it authenticated by PCGS or NGC before buying or selling. Check the signs below and weigh it.

Value by condition

Penny Value estimate · values as of Q4 2026

Worn (Good to Very Fine)

$580 – $1,500

G-4 – VF-20

Uncirculated (MS-60)

$1,700

Brown

By grade

Typical value at each grade and colour. Penny Value estimate.
Grade	Brown	Red-Brown	Red
G-4Good	$580	—	—
VG-8Very Good	$890	—	—
F-12Fine	$1,300	—	—
VF-20Very Fine	$1,500	—	—
XF-40Extremely Fine	$1,500	—	—
AU-50About Uncirculated	$1,500	—	—
MS-60Mint State (Uncirculated)	$1,700	$2,100	—
MS-63Mint State (Uncirculated)	$4,300	$5,300	$9,300
MS-65Mint State (Uncirculated)	$21,000	$26,000	$46,000

Values as of Q4 2026 · Penny Value estimate · based on 6 recorded sales

Penny Value estimate, 2026-Q4, from public sale records, mintage and survival data. It isn't a price guide or an offer.

How Penny Value estimates values

Check your own penny

Take a photo of each side. Penny Value reads the date and the mint mark, tells you if it could be a 1955 Doubled Die Obverse and what to check.

Check your own penny

Penny Value is an Android app for now, so it isn't on the App Store. The values and checks on this page are free to use.Penny Value is an Android app. Open this page on your Android phone to check your own penny with a photo.

How to identify it

Dramatic doubling you can see without magnification on the date, LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST
True doubling is rounded and clearly separated; flat, shelf-like machine doubling is worth little
Heavily counterfeited: check the weight (about 3.11 g) and have it authenticated

What to check

What a genuine 1955 Doubled Die Obverse shows:

Doubled die obverse (1955): YesOn this 1955 cent, is there strong, rounded, separated doubling (not flat shelf-like machine doubling) on the date, LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST (visible without magnification)?

To check yours, photograph

Date close-up
Lettering close-up

Specs

Series: Lincoln Wheat Cent
Year: 1955
Mint: Philadelphia (no mint mark)
Mint mark: Below the date, on the front
Metal: Bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc)
Weight: 3.11 g
Mintage: Roughly 20,000-24,000 are thought to exist; perhaps about 40,000 were struck during one night shift. Part of the 330,580,000 1955 total.
Source: Wikipedia
Variety number: FS-101
Designer: Victor David Brenner

Other varieties of this date

1955
Philadelphia · Part of the 330,580,000 1955 cents; about 20,000-24,000 of those are the doubled die.
7.5¢worn
$1.50MS-60

Other 1955 pennies

1955-D
Denver · 563.3 million made
7.5¢worn
$1.50MS-60
1955-S
San Francisco · 44.6 million made
Semi-key
$2.10worn
$8.50MS-60
1955 Proof
Philadelphia · Proof · 378,200 made
Proof

1955 penny values · Every Lincoln Wheat Cent · Penny value chart